1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to portable extension poles. In more specific aspects, the present invention relates to portable poles used in the electrical distribution system field and methods associated therewith.
2. Description of the Related Art
The accessibility of electrical power distribution lines varies substantially because the lines are installed both above ground at various elevations and below ground in underground electric power distribution systems. As a result of such a highly diverse and non-uniform manner in which the electrical power distribution lines are positioned and mounted, the access distances between the electrical power distribution lines and the maintenance personnel vary substantially. For example, an above ground electrical power distribution line may be 10 feet or more from the maintenance person thus requiring a pole of at least 10 feet in length in order to reach the line. On the other hand, a below ground electrical power distribution line may be only 5 feet or less from the maintenance person, thus requiring a much shorter pole than would be required for the above ground scenario. In order to be properly prepared under such highly diverse and nonuniform conditions, maintenance personnel have been typically provided telescoping poles (sticks) or a selection of poles of varying lengths in order to properly accomplish various tasks without being required to go back to homebase to obtain a properly sized portable electrical power distribution line pole.
Telescoping poles are well known in the art and have been used for a great number of fields including the electrical power distribution field as one methodology in meeting the needs of the maintenance personnel faced with the possibility of such highly diverse and nonuniform reach distances. The use of telescoping poles is often preferred over the use of various non-telescoping or fixedly sized poles, except in certain exceptions some of which are described below, as they tend to conserve space. The telescoping poles are generally constructed from a plurality of individual telescoping sections that are generally relatively short in length and circular in cross section. By their nature, the individual telescoping sections fit one inside the other when not in use, i.e., an inner pole is disposed within an outer pole having a larger diameter than that of the inner pole. Such telescoping-type poles generally permit a selected number of sections to be extended to provide the maintenance personnel a pole of the required length.
An important feature of telescoping poles is the ability to lock individual sections of the pole at a desired telescoped extension length by means of a locking pin, button, screw, or other such fastener. Thus, the individual sections of the telescoping poles typically include a connector to lock an internal pole within the outer pole, locking select individual sections together to permit the extension of the individual sections and selective adjustment of the overall length of the telescoping pole. For example, each of the individual sections can have a spring-biased button which passes through a hole formed in an adjacent outer cylindrical section. When the hole and the button engage, the pole is mechanically locked into position and can be released by manual pressure on the button. The means for locking the individual sections of the telescoping pole can, however, be problematic. For example, when a user tries to extend or retract individual sections of the telescoping pole, the inner pole sections often tend to rotate with respect to an adjacent outer pole segment. This rotation typically results in a misalignment of the button of the inner pole section with the corresponding hole in the adjacent outer pole section which prevents engagement of the hole with the button. The user typically cannot see the button of the inner pole section and must radially twist the two pole sections relative to each other to “feel” for the button in order to align the button with the hole of the adjacent outer pole section until engagement occurs. This problem is exacerbated when trying to retract all of the pole sections such that a single button engages each of the holes of corresponding adjacent outer pole sections. The user must successively align the button on the innermost pole section with holes in each of the outermost pole sections which then also must align with each other.
Various strategies to overcome this problem with respect to various types of telescoping poles not necessarily to use on electrical distribution lines have included the use of alignment marks in the form of a notch or some other indicia. These markings, however, tend to be difficult for maintenance personnel to see, especially when faced with bad weather or low-light conditions. These markings also have been shown to be even less effective when used to align the poles during retraction. Applicant has, therefore, recognized a need for a telescoping pole for use with the electrical power distribution lines that provides alignment indicators on each pole section that align with each other to further enhance the ease of alignment of the respective telescoping pole sections during both extension and retraction.
Another significant feature of the telescoping pole is the ability to manipulate a tool at the farthest most end of a pole section with the telescoping pole either partially or fully extended. Often, maintenance personnel have faced difficulty in manipulating the tool due to the distance between the eyes of the user and the tool itself, the chief complaint being that it is difficult to visualize the direction (spatial orientation) of the tool at the end of the telescoping pole. The maintenance personnel have typically attempted to overcome this difficulty by positioning the telescoping pole close to the ground and rotating the pole to orient the tool in a specific reference orientation and then attempt to maintain the tool in that position by not rotating the pole while repositioning the tool adjacent the area of interest. This has proved only marginally successful as the telescoping pole is often inadvertently rotated during the repositioning process. Correspondingly, Applicant has, therefore, also recognized a need for a telescoping pole for use with the electrical power distribution lines that provides alignment indicators on the nearest most pole section to provide the user continuous visualization of the direction of the utility power line tool at its farthest most end when manipulating the telescoping pole at its nearest most end.
As stated above, in some electrical power line distribution maintenance procedures, such as when installing “hot line” clamps, the typical telescoping pole is not typically used in favor of use of a heavier gauge pole having an insulated head section often referred to as a clamps stick or a shotgun stick. The shotgun stick includes a hook or jaw generally positioned within the insulated head section and capable of gripping a clamp or another tool. When used with respect to a hot line clamp, the hook or jaw will be opened to release the clamp. In such position, the hook extends outwardly and radially from the insulated head section. The shotgun stick can be fairly long and thus succumbs to the same problem described above with respect to the telescoping pole. When used to manipulate a tool, maintenance personnel face difficulty due to the distance between their eyes and the tool itself. As with telescoping poles, the chief complaint is that it is difficult to visualize the direction or spatial orientation of the tool at the end of the pole. When used to install a hot line clamp, maintenance personnel are faced with even greater difficulty because of the necessity for knowing the radial direction the hook or jaw will extend prior to releasing the clamp. As with the visualization problem described with respect to telescoping poles, the maintenance personnel have typically attempted to maintain spatial orientation of the head section by propositioning the orientation of the head section with the head section close to the ground, using that initial position in an attempt to maintain spatial orientation of the head unit while positioned adjacent the electrical power distribution lines. This too has also proved only marginally successful. Thus, as inherently stated above, Applicant has recognized a need for various length poles for use with the electrical power distribution lines that have an alignment indicator to provide the user continuous visualization of the direction of the utility power line tool at its farthest most end when manipulating the pole at its nearest most end.